Four of the five candidates vying to fill Delaware’s lone U.S. House of Representatives’ seat shared one stage Tuesday.
The elected position is being vacated by Lisa Blunt-Rochester who is seeking to fill Delaware's open seat in the U.S. Senate with the upcoming retirement of Sen. Tom Carper in January.
The Delaware Democratic Party has endorsed current State Sen. Sarah McBride for the position, and the Delaware GOP has endorsed Donyale Hall, a businesswoman and Gulf War Era Veteran of the United States Air Force.
Other candidates include Democrat Elias Weir, a self-described "newbie" to Delaware — a New York native and financier, Democrat and businessman Earl Cooper and Republican and retired Delaware State Police officer John Whalen who was not at the debate.
Candidates discussed topics like foreign relations, healthcare and hot button climate issues, including the state’s controversial electric vehicle mandate.
The adopted standard requires 82% of new cars and trucks sent to Delaware for sale to be zero-emission vehicles by 2032, which Republican Party-endorsed candidate Donyale Hall argues has faced poor public reception.
“In the conversations that we've had across the state of Delaware, there has been an overwhelming outcry against EV mandates," Hall said.
She raised cost concerns with the state’s renewable energy standards, but Democratic Party-endorsed candidate Sarah McBride says the transition to EVs is inevitable.
“The market has made clear, the largest manufacturers have made abundantly clear, that the world is moving toward electric vehicles," McBride said.
McBride agrees with Hall that affordability challenges remain, but says increasing the availability of rebates and subsidizing charging infrastructure is crucial.
The mandate feels “rather strong” to Democratic candidate Earl Cooper and the race’s third Democrat, Elias Weir, raised concerns over the environmental impacts of EV infrastructure.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) also seemed to highlight a division among the Democratic candidates.
McBride says the government has a role to play in regulating AI in order to maximize its potential, while also mitigating its risk.
“I disagree. I do believe that innovation should be allowed. I don’t think that Congress has to intervene there," said Cooper.
“You have to allow for individuals to progress for innovation. If you stifle that, it becomes a problem because the government should not have hands on everything," Weir expressed in concurrence with Cooper.
Hall says she believes in creating a “techquity” fund that would sponsor re-trainings for individuals who may lose their jobs to AI.
Candidates also expressed their views on the war in Gaza, with McBride conveying her support for U.S. government-led efforts to negotiate a long-term ceasefire and reaching a two-state solution while maintaining the U.S.'s alliance with Israel.
Cooper says he stands with Israel but believes there is only so much the U.S. can do and does not want to lose track of what's happening in Delaware.
Hall says she supports the long-standing alliance with Israel and wants to "keep that relationship strong for the sake of world peace."
Weir also backs Israel, saying Hamas must be "dealt with strongly."
Hall and Weir both oppose abortion, while McBride called herself a proud champion of reproductive freedom in the Delaware Senate and would continue to be one in Congress if she were to be elected.
Cooper says he supports a woman's right to choose.
The three Democratic candidates face off in the Sept. 10 primary election, and Hall and John Whalen, who was not present at the debate, vye for the Republican nomination.
You can view the full debate on the Delaware Journalism Collaborative's YouTube page.
